Thursday, November 13, 2008

cupcake bath bombs tutorial

These sweet treats look good enough to eat! But as I've told my three-year-old a dozen times, don't eat them! They taste like soap--yucky! Bath bombs are made up of a few simple ingredients, along with essential oil for aromatherapy and almond oil to soften the skin. They fizz when you drop them in water and create a luxurious bath experience. But these are extra sweet because we added frosting with real powdered sugar.

We made simple round bath bombs at our recent class, but each attendee got to take one of these bath bomb "cupcakes" home as a door prize. (The frosting was just too complicated to add to an already complicated class.) We made up several dozen of these "cupcakes" to sell at our upcoming craft fairs. We'll have to be sure to mark them "don't eat!" because they do look delicious.

Want to make your own? Here's the recipe, along with a tutorial to help you avoid the problems we had as we were figuring this art out. Because it is an art, not a science, you should work in small batches (i.e. don't double the recipe), and be prepared to tweak things to get them just right. All that said, they're really not that hard! I promise!

Okay, let's get started!

Bath Bomb Fizzy Recipe
What you'll need:

*2 c. baking soda
*1 c. citric acid (We found this in the bulk section at a local health food store)
*1 Tbsp. oil of your choice (We like almond oil, but grapeseed oil or even olive oil would work)
*5 drops fragrance/essential oil
*3-5 drops coloring (You can use food coloring, but it may fade quickly and even leave a ring around your bathtub. We used a special oil for bath products we found on Brambleberry.com.)
*1 tsp. Bentonite clay (optional--this just makes them harder; we found it here, too.)
*1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (optional--this makes your bombs lather up, and we also found it here.)
*Witch hazel (poured into a spray bottle)
*Paper cupcake liners
*Silicone cupcake molds

2. Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix. Be careful not to inhale it!

3. Add fragrance to the dry mixture. Measure out the oil and place a few drops of color to it. Add it to the dry mixture. Gently mix.

4. While kneading the mixture with one hand, begin spraying the mix with the witch hazel. (We did this as a team, but one person can do it alone.) Be careful not to get the mixture too wet--the moisture will activate the citric acid and your bath bomb will be ruined. Continue to slowly spritz the mixture with witch hazel and squish it in your hands until it has the consistency of crumbly pie dough.

5. Quickly pack the mixture into your liners inside the silicone molds. You want it to be packed in tight. Allow the mixture to set in the silicone mold for at least 5-10 minutes before removing. Now let's add some frosting to these bad boys.

7. Mix meringue powder into warm water first in a GLASS bowl. Add cream of tartar and powdered sugar. Start beating on high. If your mixture feels like stiff cookie dough at this point, add another tablespoon of water. Beat for 7-9 minutes. Frosting is done when it forms stiff peaks and is thick and fluffy.

8. Add color and fragrance and beat until well mixed (one minute or less).

Note: If you decide to add baking soda (for fizziness) and sodium lauryl sulfate (for lather), you will want to increase your water to about 6-7 Tbsp. Add them with the color and fragrance.

10. Frost your cupcake bath bombs however you like. Allow bath bombs to sit overnight to harden before packaging. Be sure to let your children, husband, or dog know these are NOT EDIBLE!

11. Package them in cellophane bags with pretty ribbons and tags for the perfect gift!

If you want a simpler process, try making them in round molds like we did for our class. We found clear, fillable Christmas tree ornaments at Michael's. Pack one half, then the other, then push them together. There should be a little of the mixture coming out the seam, and the two sides should be sticking together. Allow to set 10-15 minutes before removing from mold, and overnight before packaging.

I am SOOOO excited that you posted a tutorial for making these!! I just discovered your site last night and stayed up until 2AM reading, reading and getting SUPER inspired! I can't thank you enough, this is hands down my new favorite site! Just a quick question and you totally don't have to answer it if you don't have the time, but do you know about how many bombs (in the ornaments) one batch will make? I can't WAIT to make these! Thank you, thank you thank YOU!!!

LOVE your blog. Can't wait to find some free time to try out all of the tutorials! Quick question about the bath bombs..if I were to make these for holiday gifts, how long do they last? Do you think they would hold up enough to ship through the mail? Keep up the fabulous and inspiring work! Wish I lived in the Pacific NW to take one of your classes... :)

This recipe makes about two of the big bath bomb balls and four to five cupcake bombs. I think they will last a while, especially if you add the clay. The clay sucks the moisture out and makes a harder bath bomb that really lasts. We've made it with and without the clay. Without is fine, but after a while I noticed it got a little soft and may not hold up in shipping. Just put some shredded newspapers in with it. Make sure you use good quality fragrance and enough that it won't fade after time. Also be careful with the cupcake toppings when shipping. If the frosting is not wet enough it won't fuse correctly to the cupcake bomb and may pop off. Again, this is where the whole "it's an art not a science" thing comes into play. You want stiff frosting, but not too stiff it won't adhere correctly. Hope this is helpful!!

I love your idea..actually I have used this same recipe before, but made the round bombs, but it seemed to be too much for one bath. I love your idea of cupcakes, they are smaller. They are so much cuter too!

Ashley, I just bought Citric Acid at The Good Earth in Provo. I had to ask a worker and it was with their baking stuff. It was sold in 2 oz bags for 1.99 each. I just made these tonight and it takes 4 oz. to make this recipe which made me 6 cupcakes. I looked on Brambleberry.com and it was cheaper even with shipping to buy the citric acid through them, so next time I'll do that! In case you haven't found the silicon muffin holders, I got them at Wal mart in the cooking section by the cake pans.

When I frosted mine the frosting didn't seem to stick, so I'm afraid when they are dry they will not be stuck on. Any tips on how to stick it on when it's dry? I guess I could put a dab of hot glue, they would just have a peice of hot glue left in their bath water! I was wondering if I could spritz the top of the bomb with water or witch hazel to make it stick, but it probably wouldn't work. Any experience with this?

Make sure your frosting is nice and wet so it fizzes/fuses to the cupcake. You could try a quick spray of witchhazel before you add it on. We have not tried that so let us know if it works. We've had some frosting not stick in the past and it was because the frosting was too dry. Hope this is helpful.

I really didn't think the tops were going to stick, but they did! So no worries. My first batch wasn't the best looking, but now that I've made about 7 batches, my frosting skills have improved and they look very pretty. Does anyone know ho wto keep the frosting from cracking when they dry?

THESE ARE THE CUTEST THINGS EVER! SOUNDS LIKE A FUN SUMMER PROJECT FOR THE KIDDOS! THIS SUMMER WE MADE ABOUT 6 THOUSAND BATCHES OF FLUBBER, SO THIS WILL BE A WELCOME CHANGE!!! STOPPING BY FROM SITS, HAPPY BLOG DAY!

Happy SITS day! (actually, I've been following your blog for a while now! LOVE IT!)

These are truly awesome! Thanks for the tutorial. I've been making cold process soap for ten years or so but these look FUN! I wonder though...do you think Kindergarteners would try to eat them if I gave them away as V-day gifts?

Okay, just by the sheer LENGTH of the instructions I know this isn't for me! LOL It's insane what others can do with their time and I feel like I can barely finish a load of laundry. :) Happy Friday and SITS feature day.

These are AWESOME! My Little Princess loves having fun fizzy stuff in her bath (OK, Mama does, too! *grin!*) These will be so much fun to make! Thanks for the tutorial!

For those that can't find citric acid locally, you can do a Google search and find it - I get mine from a wine-making supplier online for my homemade wine. If you buy it in bulk it's of course cheaper! ;)

Oh my word, ya'll are the most crafty people ever. This is a cool site you have here...I don't know if I'd ever venture out into the bath bombs though. They look like they'd be worth it in the tub though.

Those look amazing! And the way the little ones and I go through bath products, I need to learn this! I still do think it would be easier if I had a group of ladies to help me...Im not so good at crafts, alone! ;)

I am so making these. I made all of my friends peppermint bath salts for Christmas so what a great little follow up. My bath salts recipe is on my blog sometime in December if you want to check it out.

OMG!!! I truly adore your blog. I was wondering how to make these. My son has a birthday party coming up and I think I'm gonna try a hand at making these for party favors. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Oh, I love this! I've made soap before and molded and fragranced it, but this is way cool... I think I know what I'm doing for teacher gifts at the end of the year... now to bookmark this so I remember ;)

Hi Amanda W. I am not sure what you could pack them in to keep them cool. You may want to make sure there are packing peanuts or bubble wrap in the box to keep them from getting crushed. Also, how many this recipe makes depends on how full you make your cupcake. We got about 10 when we made our recipe.

These look divine. I have a question though, when using real egg whites , should i fluff them first and Then add the sugar...also there is no cream of tartar where i live, can i use a substitute? Thanks for the great site!

HI! this is the best tutorial I have saw! I would love to make these, but do you have to use the liner? If so, do you just remove the liner before you put it in the tub? Sounds silly I know.. but I don't want to assume. I thought of making them into "petite 4's" I saw a silicone mold at the craft store and thought petite 4's would be something different,,,DO how important is it to use the liner, and how easy is it to remove? THANKS..HUGS to you Ang

Water, I make these little guys all the time and love 'em. Yes, you do need to use a liner. If you don't, the cupcake doesn't come out easily. Yes, take the liner off the cupcake before putting into the tub. =)

Little Birdie, I updated the frosting recipe to make it melt easier in the tub. You can check it out here:

Hi! I've been reading your bath bomb instructions and I love them! The last couple of days I've been having a hard time making them because once they get out of the mold they stick together but then they start to go flat. Every time I turn them they still go flat. It's rained here the last couple of days. Do you think that could be the problem? I've made some before and they've turned out great but not this time. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for the wonderful instructions!!! These are so fun and easy to make! (My "frosting" will "frost" 3 batches of the bombs!) I was wondering... what size cellophane bags did you use?? I've got the 4x6 for the mini cupcakes.... but can't seem to find anything suitable for the standard sized cupcakes.

Thanks so much for the idea! I made these last night and the frosting was quite stiff when I piped it, but then as it dried, it kind of "sank" and cracked. The bombs I had taken out of the muffin tray even had some of the frosting fall off! SHould they be dried in a low oven maybe? They seemed to take a very long time to dry (the icing is still not totally solid the next morning!)

... okay.. after making several batches, I am still having problems with my frosting. It seems that gets little dark spots on it while it's drying. I've even tried adding some of the bentonite clay to the mix to try to dry them out. Any ideas??

I just tried these. I had a recipe similar to this, without the clay. It had cornstarch in it and only 1/2 cup citric acid and 1/2 cup soda. They turend out great until they sat overnight and then they sort of "melted" down to a blob. Now they look like big patties or something. Any idea why they didn't hold their shape? Should I leave them in the silicone molds to completely dry?

I found your blog because I was looking for a recipe for bah bomb frosting - these are purrrrfffeect! Thanks for a great tutorial - I do have one question though - is it posible to use something other than egg-white powder as a subsitute? I dont have access to egg-white powder and I want to make these tonight!!! Thanks again for a great tutorial and I will be following your site!

I found your blog because I was looking for a recipe for bah bomb frosting - these are purrrrfffeect! Thanks for a great tutorial - I do have one question though - is it posible to use something other than egg-white powder as a subsitute? I dont have access to egg-white powder and I want to make these tonight!!! Thanks again for a great tutorial and I will be following your site!

I have a question. I have made quite a few lovely batches of both small and large cup cakes. I've packaged them up and they look great! But now after sitting for a week or two I'm starting to notice they are getting these dark spots on them. Can you tell me what these spots are (mold??) and what I can do to get rid of them?

I don't believe it is mold. I think it is a discoloration in your frosting part only. We've changed the frosting recipe so it is just a pure royal icing now. The SLS or if you used regular food coloring is probably what is discoloring them. Try to gently remove the tops and remake them. The actual bath fizzy part should still be spot free. If I am wrong, let me know.

Good to here that it's probably not mold. Do you think I could avoid these dark spots from appearing if i stop putting food coloring in the icing? also I was wondering what the new recipe was for the icing?? thank you so much

I made these last week as Christmas Gifts for my bath lovin' sister, brother-in-law and nefew. It was so much fun. I love how they turned out! They look so real! I wanted to give them each about 4 cupcakes so I recycled a plastic muffin package after I ate the muffins and they look super cute, and will hopefully travel in my car safer.

I made these last week as Christmas Gifts for my bath lovin' sister, brother-in-law and nefew. It was so much fun. I love how they turned out! They look so real! I wanted to give them each about 4 cupcakes so I recycled a plastic muffin package after I ate the muffins and they look super cute, and will hopefully travel in my car safer.

Someone said this recipe only makes 4-5 cupcakes, but when I clicked on the link for the modified frosting, that blog said it would make over 20. Does anyone really know how many cupcakes this recipe will make per batch?

Someone said this recipe only makes 4-5 cupcakes, but when I clicked on the link for the modified frosting, that blog said it would make over 20. Does anyone really know how many cupcakes this recipe will make per batch?